The Subject Centre invited bids for £1,000 for practitioners wishing to undertake small scale action research projects in languages, linguistics or area studies in UK higher education.
During 2006 the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies, in partnership with the University Council for Modern Languages, undertook a review of research in modern languages which was commissioned by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The review was completed in September 2006.
The main aim of this project is to establish a new on-line curriculum for the teaching of British Sign Language (BSL) at HE level.
In October 2001, the Subject Centre and the University Council of Modern Languages were awarded £482,950 from HEFCE's Restructuring and Collaboration Fund for a three-year programme. The programme consisted of 10 pilot projects involving a series of collaborative and cooperative developments in modern languages.
Funded by the Embassy of the United States of America, Discover American Studies is a free interactive CD-ROM designed to promote American Studies to students in schools and further education colleges in the UK. The CD was launched in Edinburgh at the annual conference of the British Association for American Studies on 29 March 2008. Based on the Why Study Languages? CD it contains presentations, essays, video clips and interactive features to demonstrate the benefits of studying for a degree in American Studies. The CD is being distributed to American Studies departments and members of the British Association for American Studies.
The Subject Centre received funding via the Higher Education Academy to explore ways in which our subject communities may be able to contribute towards HEFCE's Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) agenda. Each participant submitted a short article on what ESD means to his or her experience of teaching languages, linguistics or area studies.
During 2007, LLAS funded a mini-project on English Language at undergraduate level. This study reviews the current place of undergraduate English Language in Higher Education institutions in the UK in light of a rapid expansion of the subject. It is based on the analysis of documents available from universities (e.g. prospectuses, brochures, e-mails) and on the web. It provides an overview of 49 single honours English Language programmes considering the ways they are labelled, their relationship with other disciplines, their rationale, content and structure. It also identifies and discusses the preferred teaching and learning methods, and assessment procedures in these programmes. Finally, it explores marketing procedures and recruitment trends for these degrees.
This project worked with language practitioners to disseminate and transfer innovative practice in LWULT languages through workshops and number of funded mini development projects. Collaboration across languages and between institutions was a key feature.
This project aims to identify the opportunities for students to develop sustainability skills (promoting community cohesion, environmental sustainability and organisational social responsibility) in volunteering activities and work placement, as well as in aspects of the curriculum that support and accredit the development of these skills. The project will involve partnership working between the London Met student volunteering service (‘Reach’), the Department of Applied Social Sciences and local voluntary organisations in the social and environmental sectors. It aims to produce a report analysing the sustainability skills valued by voluntary sector employers, and best practice guidelines on how to develop these skills.
The group was set up in 2005 to explore all facets of interdisciplinary teaching and learning. This includes investigating the student experience, examining the ways in which institutions encourage or discourage cross-disciplinary collaboration (in teaching), exploring how Subject Centres can support staff teaching on interdisciplinary programmes and supporting staff who do not have an obvious Subject Centre home.
The Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS), in partnership with the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies (PRS), has prepared a report for HEFCE on international approaches to Islamic Studies. The report examines the historical development and current state of Islamic Studies in eight countries: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United States, Australia, Malaysia and Turkey. It also presents perspectives on recent developments in Islamic Studies and the responses of governments, policy makers and funding bodies; interactions between institutions of higher education and faith-based organisations and communities; and case studies that highlight examples of innovative practice in relation to Islamic Studies in higher education. The report was commissioned by HEFCE to inform its activities relating to Islamic Studies, which was designated a Strategically Important Subject in June 2007.
LLAS worked in collaboration with the Subject Centres for English, and History, Classics and Archaeology to carry out a piece of research into the longer-term employability of graduates of these discipline areas.
Working in partnership with the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies, a team based at LLAS has carried out research funded by HEFCE on the provision of Islamic Studies-related modules at all UK Higher Education Institutions. The research showed that Islamic Studies is located in a wide variety of disciplines and departments, but that the bulk of provision is concentrated in a small number of pre-1992 universities. However, some provision was found at the majority of universities investigated. This research will inform further work to support academics working in Islamic Studies by providing clear data on the breadth and scope of current provision.
LLAS was a partner in this Lingua 1 project, which established a network of community based language learning clubs
This European Commission funded project built on the concept of café culture to provide informal, social settings for people to get together, practise languages and share cultural interests. We developed a multilingual website which includes downloadable materials offering advice on setting up and joining a Language Cafe, publicity and sponsorship, and ideas for activities (www.languagecafe.eu).
The Subject Centre's Materials Bank has been set up to encourage and facilitate the sharing of teaching materials in Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. The Subject Centre is currently seeking to expand and develop this resource and has made funds available for the development of additional materials for the Bank.
Opening the door to language learning (OdLL) was a three-year project funded by the European Community Socrates Programme, which sought to develop and test strategies for increasing access to language learning. We worked with partners in Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden.
A total of six small-scale pedagogical research projects were commissioned and the project reports were published in January 2004. Two workshops focused on research methodology were organised to support the projects.
During the 2005-2006 academic year, LLAS funded six pedagogic research projects. Practitioners were able to bid for up to £4,000 to undertake an investigation into a facet of learning and teaching in languages, linguistics or area studies. Reports were submitted in January 2006 and are available to download.
The Subject Centre is funding a third phase of pedagogic research projects from January 2007. Successful bidders will deliver their reports in April 2008.
The Nuffield Foundation and the University of Southampton funded 10 partner institutions to run mini-projects whose aim was to implement and evaluate the European Language Portfolio in Higher Education.
The Subject Centre funds a small number of mini-projects every year on a number of topics. Details of the latest phase of mini-project funding are given below.
This is the document repository for the Socrates Erasmus Thematic Network Project reports. The Subject Centre was a partner organisation in the Thematic Network Projects coordinated by the Freie Universität Berlin.
